On March 1st, 2017, at a little after 9:00 in the morning, the Junior class of the Highly Gifted Magnet was shepherded onto two school buses by Mr. Bradbury, Ms. Underwood, and a few parent chaperones. After about an hour-long ride, they alighted at the front of the Huntington. As soon as they got off the bus, the students grouped up: though the groups were supposed to include about nine people, they varied from about three to over a dozen members. They then scattered onto the lush grounds, graced by a bright blue sky.
Though still winter, there were plenty of plants for the youngsters to admire as they wandered. The Huntington has a multitude of themed gardens, like the Japanese Garden, the Chinese Garden, the Australian Garden, the Rose Garden, the Cactus Garden, and the Jungle Garden. Students traveled under barren wisteria, flowering cherry trees, and empty rose trellises; over bent bridges, fields of grass, and gravel paths; through bamboo, six-inch-high labyrinths, and lion-guarded doorways; and beside willow trees, bonsai, and “kangaroo paws” (a flowering bush native to Australia). Most people also encountered wildlife, consisting mainly of lizards, squirrels, and geese. Some groups put their shins on the line and attempted to befriend the geese.
The Huntington is also renowned for its exhibitions, such as its library, which is home to, among other things, a Gutenberg Bible, the Ellesmere Manuscript of Canterbury Tales, and an assortment of historical lightbulbs; the Huntington Art Gallery, with Rembrandt’s Blue Boy; and its exhibit on American art. The latter included displays of quilts, chairs, pressed glass, and paintings of subjects such as ships, anatomically improbable dogs, and overturned carts.
All students who left on the trip were returned safely to the school and, to the consternation of many, were just in time for Period 6.